Natalia M. Dushkina Assistant Professor of Physics, Ph.D. |
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PHYSICS 132: PHYSICS II WITH ALGEBRA |
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Summer III: July 17 – August 18, 2006 Instructor: Dr. Natalia Dushkina Office hours: Monday and Wednesday 9:15 AM – 12:00 PM Credit hours: 4 Lectures: MTWRF 7:30 – 9:05 AM; Roddy 286; Recitation: Phys 132:2A: TRF 9:15 AM – 10:05 PM Roddy 247; Phys 132:2B: TRF 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM Roddy 247 Labs: Phys 132:2A: TRF 10:15 AM – 12:05 PM Roddy 247; Phys 132:2B: TRF 2:00 PM – 3:50 PM Roddy 247 Lab Notebook: Bound Lab Notebook, quad ruled (9.75” x 7.5”). Please, bring this lab notebook to your first lab meeting. A calculator is also required. Prerequisite: PHYS 131 Physics is the most fundamental of all the basic sciences. A thorough knowledge of fundamental scientific ideas is a key step in learning to master whatever technical area you have chosen. In fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to read a newspaper or to listen to a television news report without encountering concepts from physics. How do you decide what information is reliable and where is the elusive boundary between science and pseudoscience? The study of physics has the potential to develop critical and analytical thinking, as well as to build skills and habits that are helpful when you come across such a situation. Physics is very much concerned with verifying the laws of nature. A good physics course emphasizes that data collected in the laboratory part of the course elucidates the basic concepts and their connections, discussed in lecture. Solving problems also play an essential role in adding concreteness to your knowledge of the basic ideas introduced in the lecture. Therefore, you are expected to work at home on selected questions and problems that are assigned to each lecture and will also be part of our learning strategy. It is essential that you attend every lecture and laboratory, and conscientiously prepare your assignments, in order to realize your potential as a good physics student. The goal of the course is to make you familiar with basic concepts of physics from electricity and magnetism, light and modern physics. The purpose of the laboratory exercises is to provide you with some direct experience with the concepts you will study in lecture portion of the course. To encourage your energetic participation in the process described above, it is helpful to identify some specific objectives of the PHYS 132 course:
This course is a continuation of Physics 131 and includes fundamental laws and properties of electricity, magnetism, light and radiation, and elements of nuclear physics. Class meetings: The teaching-learning process will be based mainly on the principle of a discussion and group work, including elements of lecturing and problems solving, as well as occasional demonstrations. There will be three intermediate exams (one hour each) and a comprehensive final (two hours). LABS: Lab will start with a brief introduction of the experiment and the lab goals. You will work in groups of three, as everybody should perform the experiment, process the data and write an individual report. Individual lab exercises and reports will not be graded but each must be completed and signed by your lab instructor. The lab will finish with a final exam of two hours. Since you will be allowed to use your lab notebook during the lab exam, it is in your favor to write down well organized and detailed lab reports (see the provided suggestion for a lab report). Attendance to all lectures and recitations is highly recommended! Due to the though course schedule, even one missed day of classes will significantly influence your exam performance and possibly will reduce drastically your final score. All the exams will be based on problem solving; therefore, you may not want to miss a recitation. Since Physics 132 is a lab course, you must pass lab in order to pass the course! Three missed labs result automatically in course failure! One missed lab results in “incomplete” final grade! The rules of academic honesty will be followed during labs and exams. A makeup of an exam or a missed lab will be considered ONLY in exceptional cases, such as student’s hospitalization or death in the family (student should provide an official document), and will be processed according to the official policy of Millersville University.
10% of each exam will be based on Extra-Credit Activity, which consists of a one page hand-written summary of each chapter, and which will be used during the exams. No food and drinks are allowed in the classroom and laboratory room! Cell phones should be switched off during lectures, labs and exams. Please, leave the rooms neat after lecture and lab! Students with physical and learning disabilities will be provided with the special conditions described and requested in an official letter from the Department of Student Affairs. If you have questions or need help with homework and lecture material, do not hesitate to contact me. I am here to help you achieve your goals in this course!
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